Grain-separator.



PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904.

J. R. LAZARUS. GRAIN SEPARATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 6. 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

K0 MODEL.

K/fiL 020/20, l az i r,

PATENTED MAR. 29. 1904.

J. E, LAZARUS. GRAIN SEPABATOIL APPLICATION PIL BD P113. 6. 1903.

. 6 sums-sums.

no IODBL. 5

mmlllll lnnw fiorge ys PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904.

' J. R. LAZARUS. GRAIN SEPARATOR. APPLICATION rn-nn FEB. 6. 1903.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

.PATENTED MAR. 29. 1904.

J. R. LAZARUS. GRAIN SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 6. 1903.

N0 IODIIL.

cu. mam LIYHQ. Wasmnam PATENTED MAR. 29, 190

No. 756,121. 0 J. R. LAZARUS GRAIN SEPARATOR. APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 6.1903. NO MODEL. I I 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

. reciprocating grain-tailings spout.

UNITED STATES Patented March 29, 1904..

PATENT OFFICE.

JOH R. LAZARUs, 0F sHoENERsvrLLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

' GRAlN-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 756,121, dated March29, 1904. Applicatien filed February a, 1903. Serial No- 142,173. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN R. LAZARUS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Shoenersville, in the county of Northampton and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Grain-Separator, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to grain-separators; and it has for its object toprovide a machine of this class which shall possess superior advantagesin point of simplicity, durability, and general efiiciency.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts which will behereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewtaken through asv much of a grain-separator constructed in accordancewith my invention as is required to illustrate the invention. Fig. 2 isa plan View of the separating-grate which forms a part of the invention.Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the separating-grate, taken on the line 33 in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a portion of saidseparating-grate, taken on the line 1 4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is aperspective detail, on an' enlarged scale, of the separatingrake andrelated parts. Fig.6 is a perspective detail view of the grain andtailings spouts, showing the means for suspending said spouts from theshoe and for communicating a reciprocating movement to the said spoutstransverse to the movement of the shoe. Fig. 7 is a detail plan view ofa portion of the chaffrake. Figs. 8 and 9. are perspective detailsshowing the means for communicating motion to the longitudinally-movablebars constituting the straw-rack. Fig. 10 is a detail side view of thefan-casing,'showing the ends of the shafts carrying vthe valves. Fig. 11is a transverse .sectional view of the lower part of the shoe, showingalso the adjacent'part of the casing of the machine and part of themeans for transmitting motiori to the transversely- Fig. 12 is asectional detail view, on an enlarged scale,

taken through the end of the arm 80 to show the bolt-.582". I

' Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similarcharacters of refer ence.

The frame structure of my improved grainseparator comprises side sills1, front and rear sills 2, front uprights 3, rear uprights 4,intermediate uprights or legs 5, horizontal brackets 6, and transversetop pieces 7. The

foregoing are alluded to merely as being the principal fixtures of theframe. Additional braces or frame-pieces are to be used wherever neededand will be specially referred to when necessary. A casing will also beprovided which will extend beyond what has here been designated as therear uprights 4:, said uprights being the rear uprights only in theirrelation to that part of the machine which will be herein shown anddescribed, it being deemed unnecessary to illustrate or to particularlydescribe the rear portion of the casing proper of the machine, which isnot included in my invention.

The brackets 6 support a casing 8, containing the concave 9, which is ofordinary construction. Said casing is also provided with bearings forthe shaft 10 of the threshingcylinder 11, which is constructed, mounted,and driven in'the usual manner.

The legs or uprights 5 support an inclined board 12, and the rear edgeof the concave 9 supports the front edge of a casting 13, additionallysupported upon the upper ends of the legs 5 and consisting of a plateprovided on its upper face with a plurality of parallel inclined orwedge-shapedribs 14:, the incline of which is-in an upward and rearwarddirection? Each of these ribs is cast around a finger 15, consisting ofa round iron bar of suitable dimensions,extending rearwardly. Theseround fingers cooperate to constitute a separatinggrate, between thefingers or bars of which loose grain may pass freely in a downwarddirection, a portion of said grain dropping upon the inclined board 12,whereby it is guided to the fanning-mill, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

' The casing 8, within which the cylinder and concave are confined, isprovided at its front end with the usual feed-opening, and the rearportion of said casing is extended, so as to confine the delivery of thethreshed grain from the cylinder and concave, so that it may bedelivered in the proper direction. The upper edge of the inclined board12 is disposed adjoining and in contact with the rear edge of thecasting 13, which is supported, as stated, upon the upper ends of thelegs 5. It follows that all material discharged from between thecylinder and the concave must necessarily pass over theseparating-grate, the inclined ribs 14 of which ofier no obstruction tothe passage of said material in an upward and rearward direction, butserve, on the contrary, to break it up and to loosen it before it passesonto the separating-fingers 15, between which the loose grain ispermitted to drop, as already described. It is at this point that by farthe largest proportion of the grain is separated from the straw, as iswell known and will be readily understood.

16 designates what I term the separatingrake, which comprises a board17, into the rear edge of which a plurality of rake-teeth or bars 18 aredriven, said rake-teeth extending rearwardly a suitable distance overthe strawrack. To the under side of the board or rakehead 17 is secureda transverse deflectingboard 19, extending downward, as shown, so as tointercept the grain, which is discharged violently in a rearwarddirection by the threshing-cylinder. It will of course be understoodthat the deflecting-board 19 is not disposed directly in the path of thedischarge from the threshing-cylinder. Nevertheless the impact given tothe grain as it is delivered from the threshing-cylinder will besufiiciently strong to carry a considerable portion thereof in arearward direction even after it drops between the grate-bars 15, andthe deflector 19 is consequently found extremely useful in interceptingsuch grain and deflecting it downwardly to the fanning-mill.

The rake-head 17 is provided at its ends with rearwardly-extending arms20, having pivotal connection with the legs or uprights 5. Said arms areprovided on their under sides with projections 21, extending downwardlyand spaced apart by an intermediate recess 22.

23 designates a rock-shaft, the ends of which are extended through thewalls of the casing, where they are provided with supporting boxes orbearings. Securely mounted upon said shaft are castings or collars 24,having pins or projections 25,which are disposed directly below thedownward projections 21 of the arms 20. It follows that when the shaft23 is rocked or oscillated in its bearings the pins 24 will alternatelyengage the projections 21, and in this manner a vertical reciprocatingor vibratory movement will be imparted to the rake 16. The front edge ofthe rake head 17 extends below the rear ends of the fingers orgrate-bars 15, and while disposed closely contiguous thereto does not atany time during the operation of the machine come in contact with saidgrate-bars. The method of transmitting and imparting said movement willbe hereinafter more fully described.

26 designates a rotary beater which is disposed above the grate 16 andwhich is composed of a shaft 27, carrying heads or spiders 28, the armsof which are connected by plates 29,which are preferably constructed ofsheet metal. In my preferred construction the heads or spiders at theends of the shaft 27 are each provided with five arms, thus dividing thebeater into five equal compartments,which receive the straw dischargedfrom the threshingcylinder and deliver the same onto the rake 16 fivetimes to each revolution of the beater. The material discharged by thethreshingcylinder against said beater is thrown against the latter witha considerable degree of force,

which assists in loosening the grain, so that 7 when the mixed straw andgrain is delivered upon the vibratory rake it will be readily separatedand the grain will be suffered to pass between the raketeeth and in adownward direction to be intercepted by means which are yet to bedescribed,

The straw-shaker or straw-rack 30 of my improved machine consists of atrough,the sides of which, 31, are connected at their front ends by apiece of flooring 32,0ver which the teeth 18 of the rake 16 extend. Inrear of said bottom or flooring piece the sides 31 are connected by aplurality of slats 33, suitably spaced apart to permit the grain whichseparates from the straw to drop between them, the upper sides of saidslats being provided with grooves 34 to assist in promoting theseparation of the grain from the straw. The straw-rack is suspended fromthe deck of the casing by means of hangers 35, and a reciprocatingmotion in a longitudinal direction is imparted thereto by means of aneccentric-rod or pitman 36, one end of which is suitably connected withthe flooring 32 of said straw-rack, while its opposite end has aneccentric-strap 37, engaging a disk 38, mounted eccentrically uponashaft 39, having its bearings in the front uprights 3, and to whichmotion may be contributed in any suitable manner from the shaft of thethreshing-cylinder or from any other operative part of the machine,whereby it may be conveniently and properly speeded. The forward hangers35 of the straw-rack are connected, as best seen in Fig. 5, by means oflinks 40 with arms 41, extending upwardly from the rock-shaft 23,through the medium of which a vibratory motion is imparted to the rake16, as already described. The said rake will thus move in unison withthe straw-rack and will serve after a fashion to counterbalance thelatter, thereby facilitating the operation and causing the device tooperate with smoothness and uniformity.

42 and 43 designate a pair of crank-shafts, which are journaled insuitable bearings transversely between the sides of the casing, saidcrank-shafts being provided with equal numbers ofcorrespondingly-disposed cranks 44. These cranks of the forward and rearshafts are connected in pairs by the overhead rakes, consisting of bars45, having downward-extending teeth 46 of suitable length. Suitablemeans are to be provided whereby the crankshafts 42 and 43 will beoperated in unison, thereby imparting to the rake-bars a gyratorymovement in the direction indicated by the arrows, wherebyithe teeth ofsaid rakebars shall be caused to stir and agitate the straw passing overthe rack and also at the same time to assist materially in feeding thsaid straw in a rearward direction.

47 designates a grain-floor which is disposed between the sides of thecasing of the machine underneath the straw-rack. The latter, it will beobserved, is inclined in arearward and upward direction, so as to retardthe passage or delivery of the straw rearwardly through the casing ofthe machine. The grain-floor 47 is likewise inclined upwardly andrearwardly and I is for the purpose of receiving the grain which isseparated from the straw in its rearward passage over the shaker and forconveying the same to the fanning-mill. The floor 47 is supported upon aplurality of transverse bolts 48, which connect the sides of the casingof the machine, thus serving to bind the said casing firmly together andto brace it in a very substantial manner. At the ends of the grainfioorare disposed shafts 49, carrying pulleys or rollers 50, serving tosupport an endless carrier 51, which is composed of an apron 52,carrying slats 53. Said endless carrier, which moves in the directionindicated by an arrow and for the operation of which suitable wellknownmeans are to be provided, serves to convey the grain which drops uponthe grainfloor to the fanning-mill, as will be readily understood. It isobvious that along with the grain broken ears, chaff, short straw, andthe like will drop upon the grain-floor, all such material being carriedto the fanning-mill, as will be readily understood, to be thereseparated.

The casing 54 of the fan 55 is disposed in rearof the legs or uprights 5and is provided with a rearwardly-extending discharge-throat 56, inwhich are disposed a plurality of pivoted valves 57 by means of whichthe direction of the blast created by the rotary fan 55 may beregulated. The upper rear edge of the throat 56 of the fan-casingsupports what I call the chaff-rake 58, which is composed of a head 59,having rearwardly-extending teeth 60, said head being mounted andsupported in such a manner as to be capable of transverse or lateralmovement with relation to the frame of the machine and the fan-casing.The shafts 61, upon which the valves 57 are mounted, are extended beyondthe casing and are provided with means, such as handles or ends squaredto receive handles, by means of which they may be readily manipulated.

62 designates the shoe of the fanning-mill, which is supportedbysuitable hangers, as 62, whereby it is permitted to have the nec-.essary freedom of movement. The shoe contains an upper or chaff sieve63;a lower or, grain sieve 64, and a bottom screen 65, whichv latterdischarges the clean grain into the delivery-spout 66, which is disposedat the front end of the shoe, in which direction the screen 65 isinclined. The force of the blast to the several screens or sieves may beregulated by means of the correspondingly-disposed valves. I desire itto be understood that the number of screens or sieves and of the valvescorresponding therewith may be increased or re= duced whenever desiredif the efliciency of the machine shall be considered to be promoted bysuch increase or reduction. I have, however, here shown what I considerthe most advantageous construction and arrangement both as regards thenumber and the relative disposition of these sieves or screens and thevalves cooperating therewith.

The shoe 62 receives its reciprocatory movement by means of aneccentric-rod connected with the forwardly-extending top portion 67 ofsaid shoe. This eccentric-rod, which is designated 68, has a strap 69engaging an eccentric 7 0 upon the shaft 39.

71 designates the tailing-spout, which is disposed at or near the rearend of the shoe 62 and which, as well as the grain-spout 66, is flexiblyconnected with the machine. The connecting means for each end of each ofthe said spouts, as illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 of the drawings,consist of a pair of flat steel straps .72, crossing each other, likethe letter X, and connected at the point of intersection by means of arivet '73. Suitably connected to the-lower ends of the straps 72 arecastings 74, which are also connected with the frames of the spouts. Theupper ends of the straps 72 are connected by U-shaped castings 75,having laterally-extending flanges 76, whereby they are bolted orotherwise firmly secured to the casing of the machine, the said U-shaped castings serving to space the suspending-straps 72 sufficientlyfrom the sides of the machine to enable the spouts to vibrate freelytransversely to the direction of thereciprocatory movement of theshoe-casing. In order to impart this transverse vibratory motion to thespouts, I provide a rocker 77, having an annularly-fianged perforation78, whereby it is, pivotally mounted upon the frame of the machine, asuitable pin or bolt being provided-for the purpose. This rocker isprovided with three radiating arms 79,80, and 81, the outer ends ofwhich have slots 82, adapted to engage castings 83, 84, and 85, whichare connected, respectively, with the grainspout 66, the tailings-spout.71, and with the slots, thus securing the necessary play or freedom ofmovement. The slots 82 terminate at their inner ends in comparativelynarrow slits 82, and the arms have threaded perforations in which areseated bolts 82", whereby the slots in the ends of the arms may becompressed in order to take up and compensate for wear. When the shoe isreciprocated longitudinally by the means already described, it willimpart to the rocker 77 an oscillating motion whereby, as will bereadily understood, the grain and tailing spouts are vibratedtransversely to the movement of the shoe. It is obvious that a loose orfree connection is essentially necessary for the reason that the rockeris mounted in statibnary bearings, while the shoe carrying the vibratoryspouts reciprocates. This free or loose connection is successfullyattained by the construction which has just been shown and described.

The chaff-rake 58, which has already been described as being mountedtransversely slidably upon the fan-casing and which extends over theopen or receiving portion of the shoe,

is connected with one end of a bell-crank 86, which is seen in Fig. 7 ofthe drawings, and the other arm of which has an opening 87, engaging thehooked end 88 of a rod 89, the opposite end of which has an eye 90connected by a bolt 91 with the side of the shoe-casing. It will bereadily understood that when the said shoe-casing reciprocates atransverse reciprocating motion is imparted to the chaffrake, which isuseful in breaking up the chaff, loose straw, and other material whichis deposited thereon along with the grain, thereby greatly aiding andassisting in the separation of the grain from the chaff when the mixturepassing into the casing of the shoe comes under the influence of theblast discharged from the rotary fan. The greater portion of the chaff,trash, and loose straw will be blown through the tail end of the shoeabove the chaffsieve 63, the tailings from the latter and from the lowersieve 64 will drop into the tailingsspout, while the clean grain willpass from the screen to the grain-spout 66 and be delivered by thelatter into receptacles suitably disposed for this purpose.

The straw-carrier of the machine, which practically comprises therake-bars 45, connecting the cranks 44 of the shafts 42 and 43, ispreferably driven by means of miter-gearing comprising bevel-gears 92and 93, the former of which is mounted upon the shaft 43.

94 designates a casting having a lug 95, provided with a central opening96, engaging the shaft 43, which has a bearing in said perforation. Thecasting 94 is also provided with lugs or flanges 97 and 98, havingbearings for a shaft 99, the inner end of which carries the bevel-gear93 and the outer end of which carries a band-wheel 100, to which motionis transmitted, by means of a belt or band 101, from the source of powereither directly or,

as is usually the case, through the medium of other movable parts of themachine. After the casting 94 has been placed in position engaging theshaft 43 the bevel-gear 92 is placed in position and is mounted securelyupon said shaft 43 by means of a set-screw 102. The shaft 99 andbevel-gear 93 are then placed in position, said bevel-gear 93 beingplaced in mesh with the bevel-gear 92 and mounted securely upon theshaft 99. The casting 94 is provided with upwardly and downwardlyextending arms 103, having slots 104 to receive bolts 105, by means ofwhich it is connected adj ustably with the frame of the machine, saidframe being capable of swinging upon the shaft 43 as a center, as willbe readily understood. By this means slack in the belt 101 may be takenup at any time, and by the means just described I avoid the use ofmule-pulleys, and by the gearing described motion may be transmitted tothe straw -carrier in a simple and perfect manner.

-From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of my improvedgrain-separator will be readily understood. The bundles of grain are fedinto the machine in the usual manner, the bands being out either by handor by mechanism provided for the purpose. Passing between thethreshing-cylinder and the concave the threshed grain is forcibly thrownagainst the rotating beater, a large portion of the loose grain being,how ever, suflered to pass between the fingers or grate-bars 15downwardly to the forward ex tension 67 of the shoe of the fanning-mill,which is floored so as to deliver the grain into the fanning-mill. Theshoe 62 embraces the sides of the fan-casing, as will be readilyunderstood, the shafts of the valves 57 being disposed at a point wherethey will not interfere with the reciprocatory movement of the shoe. Theloose grain, chaff, and other material which passes between thegrate-bars will be deflected in the proper direction by thedeflecting-boards 12 and 19, which latter, as stated, is permanentlyattached to the under side of the head of the vibrating separatingrake16. The latter receives the mixture of tangled straw, grain, chafl, &c.,which is discharged by the revoluble beater 26 and subjects the same toa vibratory movement, whereby it is tossed and disentangled, so that aconsiderable portion of the grain will escape onto the floor 32 at thefront end of the straw-shaker and be delivered in a forward and downwarding chaff-rake, upon which all thematerial is discharged, permits thegrain, which is heavy,

to pass freely between the teeth thereof, while the chaff and trash isbroken up and disentangled to such an extent that it will be readilyacted upon by the blast from the fan and be blown out through thetailend of the mill. The grain after being subjected to the action ofthe blast during its passage through the several sieves finally passesfrom the bottom screen into the delivery-spout, whilethe tailings arecaught by the tailings-spout and disposed of in any suitable manner. 7

It will be observed that I have given little attention to the framing orcasing of my. improved machine, the construction of which will bereadily understood by the skilled mechanic familiar with this class ofdevices. I would also have it understood that while I have in theforegoing described a simple andv preferred form of my inventionIdo notlimit myself as regards the structural details of the same, but reserveto myself the right to all changes, alterations, and modifications whichmay be resorted to within the spirit and scopeof my invention andwithout detracting from the utility or efliciency of the same;

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a grain-separator, aseparating-grate disposed in rear of the threshing-cylinder andcomprising a casting having upwardly and rearwardly extendingwedge-shaped ribs, and prongs extending rearwardly from said ribs.

2. In a grain-separator, a separating-grate disposed in rear of thethreshing-cylinder and comprising a casting provided on its upper sidewith a plurality of wedge-shaped ribs,

and rearwardly-extending prongs of wroughtiron cast into and extendingrearwardly from said ribs.

3. In a grain-separator, a separating-rake comprising a rake-head,rearwardly-extend.- ing prongs and arms attached to the ends of therake-head and extending forwardly, pivotal supporting means for thefront ends ofsaid arms, and a deflecting-board secured to the under sideof the rake-head.

4. In a grain-separator, a separating-grate disposed in rear of thecylinder and supported upon the rearedge of the concave, aseparating-rake having forwardly-extending, pivotally-supported arms,the head of said rake ex- 7 tending below the rear ends of the fingersof the grate, a deflecting-board depending from the rake-head, adeflecting-board disposedbelow the separating-grate, and means forimparting to the separating-rake a verticalvibratory motion.

5. In a grain-separator, the separating-rake having forwardly-extendingpivotally-supported arms provided with downward extensions, spacedapart, in combination with a rock-shaft disposed below saidarms,.castings mounted securely upon said rock-shaft and connectionsbetween said cranks and the hangers of the straw-shaker.

v 6. In a grain-separator, a longitudinallyreciprocating shoe, incombination with transversely-reciprocating spouts, -and supportingmeans for said spouts comprising elastic straps crossing each other andconnected at the point of intersection, L-shaped castings at the lowerends of said straps connected with the frames of the trough, andU-shaped supporting-yokes having laterally-extending flanges secured tothe sides of the machine and supporting the upper ends of the flexiblestraps at a suitable distance from the sides of the shoe.

7. In a grain-separator, the combination with alongitudinally-reciprocating shoe, of transversely-reciprocating spoutsand flexible supporting means, spaced at their upper ends from the sidesof the shoe and connected at their lower ends with theframes of thespouts.

- 8. In a grain-separator, the combination with alongitudinally-reciprocating spout, of spouts flexibly connected withand carried by the side of the machine, and means for transmittingfromthe shoe to said spouts a transversely-reciprocating motion.

9. In a grain-separator, a longitudinallyreciprocating shoe, agrain-spout and a tailings-spout flexibly connected with and carried bythe side of the machine, a rocker having vertical trunnions whereby itis mounted in the frame of the machine, and radially-extending slottedarms and castings connected respectively with the spouts and with theunder side of the shoe and loosely engaging the slots in the arms of thehopper. V

10. In a grain-separator, a longitudinallyreciprocating shoe, agrain-spout and a tail ings-spout flexibly connected with and carried bythe side of the machine, a rocker having means whereby it is mounted inthe frame of the machine and provided with radially-extending armsprovided with slots at their outer ends, said slots terminating innarrow slits, said arms being also provided with trans-- verse-threadedperforations, bolts mounted in said perforations whereby the slottedends of the arms may be compressed, and castings connected respectivelywith the spouts and with the under side of the shoe and loosely engagingthe slots in the arms of the rocker. In testimony that I claim theforegoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

JOHN R. LAZ'ARUS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES RooKEL, ALFRED J. STERNER.

